-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Richard Elman is the Founder and Chief Executive of the global supply chain manager Noble Group . He is responsible for overseeing the management team and formulation of its overall strategic planning .

He first arrived in Asia in the mid-1960s , from England , and has more than 40 years of experience as a physical commodity trader and supply chain architect . He was the first person to sell Daqing crude oil from China to the U.S. , and the first to dock a foreign commercial vessel in Vladivostok , Russia .

Prior to founding Noble Group in 1987 , he spent ten years with Philipp Brothers as Regional Director of its Asia operations , including two years as a Board Director in New York .

Mr Elman has today built Noble Group into a leading force in supply chain management from its headquarters in Hong Kong , and his reputation for leadership is complemented by numerous industry awards and accolades .

Under his leadership of two decades , Noble Group 's revenues have grown consistently to reach $ 13.7 billion in 2006 , representing a 20-fold increase from $ 677.5 million in 1996 .

In 2004 , he guided Noble 's Board of Directors to claim the Listed Companies -LRB- Main Board -RRB- Boards Award from The Hong Kong Institute of Directors and oversaw the top ranking on the Billion-dollar club of the Singapore Stock Exchange for Total Shareholder Returns over a three and five year period .

Noble also landed on top of the Forbes Global 2000 as the world 's best performing stock from 2001 - 2005 -LRB- 2,302 % -RRB- . E-mail to a friend

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Richard Elman is the founder and CEO of the Noble Group

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He founded the company in 1987 , having arrived in Asia in the 1960s

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Under his leadership revenues have grown 20-fold over the last 10 years